User-Generated Sales
In February of this year, I brought to your attention a UK-based online yellow pages start-up called BrownBook.net. While online yellow pages is a crowded and generally unremarkable category of online content, BrownBook was coming at it with a fresh and audacious approach by relying on the wiki model. Yes, user-generated content for yellow pages.
We know wikis can work. Just look at the success of Wikipedia. We know that databases can be built with user-generated content. Witness both Jigsaw and LinkedIn (both former InfoCommerce Models of Excellence winners). But the general thinking to date has been that users will contribute only when they're passionate about a topic or there's something in it for them. Most would agree that "yellow pages" and "passion" are rarely seen in the same sentence.
Despite this, BrownBook has persevered with this new approach, and by all reports, it's working. Strong site metrics are suggesting BrownBook may be onto something big with this innovative model.
Not content simply to revolutionize how yellow pages databases are built and maintained, BrownBook has just announced an equally remarkable innovation: it wants to turn its registered users into a commission sales force.
In a nutshell, if a registered user of BrownBook contributes content about a business, and that business later pays to enhance its listing, the registered user receives a portion of that revenue. But to make things more interesting, this isn't a one-time payment. It's a lifetime commission stream to that user as long as that business remains an advertiser. So while users can likely make a few dollars passively, they can potentially make a lot of money by actively encouraging the businesses they write about to advertise in BrownBook, and to remain advertisers in BrownBook as well. Consider too the potentially viral aspects of this model as BrownBook users start to receive checks, initially for not doing anything. It won't take them long to spread the word to their friends and recognize that by talking up BrownBook to their favorite retailers, they can develop a nice stream of ongoing cash.The best way to get the full story on BrownBook is to be at InfoCommerce 2008 in Philadelphia - just 16 days from now - where you can hear Marc Lyne, BrownBook's co-founder, on our kick-off Meet the Evolutionaries" panel. See you there ...
RDC, Alacra Partnership Yields Compliance Product
Regulatory Data Corp. International (RDC) and Alacra Inc. have formed a partnership that will enable compliance professionals at financial institutions and other organizations access more than five million risk-relevant records that ensure compliance with Know Your Customer laws.
Existing Alacra Compliance customers will be able to access RDC's Global Regulatory Information Database (GRID), which contains risk-relevant records that are aggregated from more than 15,000 public sources. GRID is also searchable by specific customizable risk codes.
Alacra customers can access the GRID database through Alacra Compliance, which is a workflow-based application that provides a single access point to search across multiple databases. RDC customers have had access to the GRID database since RDC was founded in 2002.
This alliance is a smart move by both companies. As compliance continues to be an important issue in the business world, professionals will increasingly rely on related solutions. By working together, RDC and Alacra are well positioned to serve such an active customer base.
Both companies should be able to attract new customers as a result as well as maintain their current customers with their ability to provide access to such an abundant number of records. In the news release announcing the partnership, RDC notes that the company will likely form other alliances in the coming years. Such a strategy will only help RDC compete in the marketplace, especially if the demand for compliance products remains as steady as it is today.
Demandbase Partners with Jigsaw
Demandbase has formed a partnership with Jigsaw, a business information and data services provider. Demandbase has qualified and integrated more than 1 million of Jigsaw's business contact records into the Demandbase Central technology platform. Jigsaw data is available through Demandbase's lead generation solutions: Demandbase Direct (a pay-as-you-go service for buying business contacts) and Demandbase Stream (a free software widget that lets sales and marketing people see which businesses are visiting their websites, provides a glimpse into their interests and identifies appropriate contacts for sales follow ups.
This partnership should provide immediate benefits for Demandbase. By aligning with Jigsaw, Demandbase has made its offering much more robust and more valuable to customers. With the breadth and quality of information that Jigsaw offers, Demandbase has very quickly increased the power of its lead generation platform. Users should be able to perform more effective and productive searches as a result.
Partnership Bolsters AC-U-KWIK's Portfolio
Weather-driven business solution provider WSI Corp. announced that it has formed a partnership with AC-U-KWIK that calls for the integration of AC-U-KWIK's global airport and FBO data into WSI's suite of proactive operations management products.
AC-U-KWIK has a worldwide database of 8,000 airports with hard-surfaced runways more than 3,000 feet in length, including runway dimensions, available approaches and contact information. Each airport has detailed listings for FBOs, handlers, fuel suppliers, ground transportation and catering. This information will be incorporated into WSI pre-flight briefing tools to provide pilots and dispatchers a comprehensive analysis of weather, hazards, facilities and services information for their route of flight and destination.
This alliance makes perfect sense. It creates a complete pre-flight information solution that should be valuable to the very niche customer base that requires such data. While serving current customers even better, the end result of this alliance will likely attract a set of new customers who are seeking such an integrated solution.
Zillow Launches Professional Directory
Real Estate web site Zillow.com last week announced its launch of the Zillow Professional Directory, a resource that enables real estate professionals and related service providers to market their services to the consumers who visit Zillow.com.
The directory launched with more than 150,000 listings of real estate professionals who already have an active profile on Zillow. Zillow is inviting any professionals who have a connect to local homeowners, buyers or sellers--from real estate agents, stagers and lenders to contractors, landscapers and architects--to include their listings in the directory. Consumers can search by specialty, business name, city, ZIP code or neighborhood.
When professionals register on Zillow.com, they are prompted to create a free profile page and identify their focus areas and expertise. They can enhance the profiles with photos, live listings, personal websites or video and narrative. Also, any of the professional's contributions to Zillow, such as listings, Q&A or discussion posts, link back to their directory profile.
As Zillow works to create a community among the individuals in the real estate market (from buyers and sellers to realtors), the addition of this directory is a natural next step. It seems that it was a relatively easy move as well, since Zillow was able to include the professionals who already had profiles featured on Zillow.
With a struggling real estate market, it shouldn't take much effort to attract other real estate professionals to the directory. For the same reason, the other professionals who can also include their listings (such as landscapers) will also likely be interested in this new offering.
The Zillow site already boasts an impressive amount of traffic. According to the company, Zillow recorded more than 5.4 million unique visitors in September 2008, which represents a 42 percent year-over-year increase in traffic. This new directory should certainly help increase the site's popularity with all of the members of the real estate community it serves.